This Thing Called Love
by WritingIsMyGift
Summary: Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to watch the person you love, love someone else. But what if you feel that someone else is not worthy of your loved one affections? What lengths would you go through to prove that you were?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Naruto. Some original characters in future chapters may be inspired by characters from other animes. **

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_**This Thing Called Love**_

_**Prologue**_

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to watch the person you love, love somebody else. At least, that's how Naruto felt at the moment. He looked across the playground at the swings; they were preoccupied by Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha. The two boys were engaged in a deep conversation. Naruto despised the fact that they were holding hands.

"Sasuke looks so happy, doesn't he?"

Naruto looked to his right. His old crush, Sakura, was now sitting next to him on the park bench. She wore her hair tied by a green ribbon; the ribbon matched her eyes perfectly. The reason she wore the ribbon wasn't to match her eyes: she wore to ribbon because it was Rock Lee's favorite color. He had given her that ribbon at the end of their first date. She looked at Neji and Sasuke, then back to Naruto. A smile was set upon her face.

"I doubted it at first, but Neji is perfect for Sasuke. I probably doubted it because I still had a crush on Sasuke. Naruto, is everything alright?"

Naruto faked a grin. "Everything is fine, Sakura. I was just thinking."

"You're doing some thinking? Wow! First, Neji and Sasuke hook up. Now you're thinking? Things are too good to be true." She hid her smile behind her hand.

Naruto laughed a little at Sakura's comment. Almost everything she had said since she sat down had been the truth. He, too, doubted Sasuke and Neji. Even though he had a desire for Sasuke in his heart, Neji was what some would say was "perfect" for Sasuke; Naruto saw beyond what the others saw. In his heart, he saw Sasuke and him, together, as being perfect.

Naruto began to realize his obsession with Sasuke during his absence. The raven haired male ran away to Orochimaru in a desperate attempt at power. Naruto began to miss the "brotherly" feel that he and Sasuke shared. He missed the bruises Sasuke's punches left on him. And as hormones took over and his body began to mature, he longed just for Sasuke's touch.

"Sakura, do you really believe in true love?"

Sakura looked from Sasuke and Neji who were now standing, back to Naruto. "Yes, I do. We have an example of it right before our eyes." She bit her lip and took Naruto's hand. "I know you might not believe in true love right now, Naruto, but you have to trust me when I tell you to do it. The wait may be long and hard, but eventually you'll get what you hoped for the most."

"That means that you're supposed to be with Sasuke. I mean, that is what you hoped for."

Sakura couldn't help but to blush. "I did want Sasuke. In the end, I got something that most would die to have: true love. True love is rare to find. In my case, it found me. In my case, I found true love with Lee. I had to grow up and realize that my crush on Sasuke would be nothing more."

Naruto gave a small grin. "You're right Sakura. Lee waited patiently and now he's with you."

Sakura nodded and stood on her feet. "I'm hungry. You want to go get some Ramen?"

"You know it!" Naruto got to his feet without hesitation. As the two walked off, he began to think.

"_The hardest to do is to watch the person you love, love someone else. I'll quit eating Ramen for a day to be with Sasuke. I care for him so much, I only care for his happiness, even if his happiness means being with someone else. Sasuke, I will patiently wait for you. I will wait for that destined day."_

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_**And now, a word from the author**_: Good morning/afternoon/evening to you reader. This story is a rewrite of my 2007 story tittled the same. I was bored and decided to reread one of my stories, and I realized that it started off good; yet, it ended horrible due to me being young and in a rush to type. Writing is a way for me to take my mind off troubles in my life and get lost in my own world. Therefore, I decided to rewrite this. Certain chapters may be written from the individual character's point of views.

As of now I do not have a beta for this story. Though, one would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your opinions. So please review ;-)


	2. The Scene at Konoha Amore'

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Naruto. Some original characters in future chapters may be inspired by characters from other animes. **

**Also, characters may seem original, but the personalities fit with the plot. **

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_**This Thing Called Love**_

_**The Scene at Konoha Amore'**_

The next day, Naruto awoke with a start. Something in his gut was telling him to get out of bed. "_It was probably my empty stomach_," he mused while getting dressed. His jog to the ramen stand allowed him to enjoy a light breeze. The closer he was to his destination, the more he tried to shake the feeling off. _"Maybe I'll run into the '_it_' couple." _He slightly grinned at the thought. _"I'll get to see Sasuke happy even if his significant other is there." _Sakura's back was now in his line of vision.

"Sakura-chan!" his smile wide by the time he finished the honorific. "Why are you out-" The look on her face shocked him when she turned around.

"Have you seen Sasuke?" Her emerald eyes were scanned the area behind Naruto. He could sense something of importance was on her mind.

"I haven't. Why?"

"I need your eyes!" she yelled and grabbed his arm before taking off into a run. Naruto began to panic. _"My eyes? It's not like I have a Byakugan or Sharingan. But she was just looking for Sasuke. And she is practicing in the medical field now under Tsunade. Holy crap!"_His hand grabbed the nearest light pole causing them both to slide on the dirt path.

"We are on a time limit!" She wrapped her arms around the boy's body. She pulled with all of her strength.

Feeling his blood circulation stop, well at least he thought it did, he let go. "What?" he gasped as his face slid along the trail. He was at a loss of breath from the bear hug like grip. The ramen stand slid by just like the tiny pebbles and multiple foot prints. After another three minutes of being dragged, Sakura finally dropped his body.

His eyes closed from his body's sudden impact with the ground. _"Why would she need my eyes?"_ The question perplexed him to no end. But hearing her impatient sigh deemed the question too dangerous to ponder. _"I guess I'll have to run away before I get any answers." _Naruto was not a coward; he was a man who felt he shouldn't fight his female best friend under the given circumstances. With a short count to three in his head, he opened his eyes.

"Sakura…"

Said girl decided to answer the unasked question. "This is Konoha Amore'. I was supposed to meet Lee here for a lunch date." She looked at the blonde that was still lying in the dirt. "Please dust yourself off and make yourself presentable. I convinced Lee at the last minute that you or Sasuke should accompany me here. Sasuke wasn't home when I just checked. Neji is here."

Naruto jumped up instantly. "Why should I care if he's here? He's not mine! He's-"

"Cheating on our dear Sasuke-kun." The emerald eyes looked into Naruto's blue ones. "And I need your eyes so that it's not just my word against Neji's." A delicate hand wiped dirt specs from a tan face. "Are you willing to sit and listen with me? I could be wrong. That's why I want to sit and observe first. I just wanted Sasuke here so that he could see firsthand if my hypothesis is right."

Naruto nodded. The two walked silently into the fancy restaurant. The violet haired hostess welcomed them with a large smile. "Welcome back to Konoha Amore', Ms Haruno. Will this gentleman be your guest for today?"

Sakura slowly nodded.

The woman smiled gently at Naruto. Since his help in the retrieval of one of the last Uchiha, people from the village became warmer to him. Women would gently smile and flirt; men would look at him with eyes of a proud father. "Smoking or non?"

"I want the smoking section. And-"

"But Sakura-" Naruto began to interject but Sakura stomped on his left foot.

"I'm sorry for that." She bowed to the hostess. "I want the smoking section. And could you sit us at the booths near the window?"

The host grabbed two menus and nodded. Sakura and Naruto followed behind the young woman. They were led to the booth that was close to the last booth before the bathrooms/lounge. Each booth had a screen on top of the seats so that customers could not stare into the booths of the other customers. "Your waitress will be out in moments," the hostess grinned before returning to her podium.

"So-" Naruto tried to begin once again before her was cut off.

"Come sit by me," Sakura whispered. Naruto stared before the pink haired girl patted the room that was left next to her. When he did as he was told, she began to whisper again. "Neji is sitting in the booth behind us with Tenten. You know, the brunette girl that was on his team?"

Naruto nodded.

"That's why I couldn't eat with Lee today. He would lecture me on spying and not trusting his two teammates. I-"

Sakura was interrupted. However, she was interrupted by the sound of light laughter. She held her right index finger up to her lips signaling for Naruto to be silent and listen.

"_Neji-kun, you are so funny!"_ a female voice squealed. Naruto guess that it was none other than Tenten's.

"_Well they say that laughter is one of the best ways to get a lady to fall for you." _Neji's voice radiated over the silent booth. _"And your laugh is so adorable. I can never grow tired of it." _Naruto opened his mouth and stuck a finger in it signaling that he wanted to gag. Sakura shook her head and continued trying to listen.

"_We've been here for about five minutes but you haven't once brought up Sasuke's name. Are you two not dating anymore?"_

"She brought up the right subject," Naruto whispered to Sakura. Once again, she brought her right index finger to her lips. Silence filled both booths before Neji began to speak again. The sound of his voice sounded of an annoyed father being asked silly questions by their child.

"_I wouldn't have asked you on this date if we were."_ That was it. His curt reply left another silence in the air. Naruto and Sakura waited anxiously, but nothing seemed to come. A woman with silky black locks tied into a bun approached the table; she wore a white kimono. "Welcome to Konoha Amore'. I'm Minako and I will be your server for tonight. May I interest you two with a beverage?"

Naruto stared into their server's chocolate eyes. A warm sensation flooded his body. _"What is this vibe I'm getting from her?"_ A gentle shake from Sakura interrupted his thoughts.

"Can I call you 'Mina' for short?" he asked the server. Sakura shook her heade and slapped him with the menu.

The waitress giggled at the two. "Yes, you may."

"Well, Mina, you remind me of an old friend named Haku. He was a kind fellow; yet, he was a good fighter."

Mina smiled as she looked down onto her notepad. "What would you like to drink? Your friend ordered pink lemonade."

"I'll have the same."

Mina put her hands behind her back. She began to speak but her voice was low. "Haku was actually my cousin. I heard about his death. And I thank you two for not speaking ill against him." She bowed at the two before walking away from the table. Naruto and Sakura sat in silence on again. Within moments, Mina returned with their drinks and allowed them to order their meals. It was a few moments after that before Tenten spoke again.

"_Neji-kun, how am I to believe that you two are not together when I saw you two holding hands in the park just yesterday? You expect me to believe that you two are over after six months? That's half a year! "_

"She must have just finished eating," Sakura whispered. Naruto decided to humor the situation by bringing his right index fingers to his lips. Sakura rolled her eyes and blushed.

"_And you want to know what that half a year was like, Tenten?" _Naruto noticed the lack of honorfics Neji used when referring to the girl. _"The Uchiha was what Shikamaru would refer to as a '_pain_'. He is a human being made of resentment because he grew up being a fool. He regrets running away to an enemy of the village on a quest for power. He is not what I need. I'm not trying to throw dirt on his name, but I realized we weren't working." _

Naruto was about to break through the screen separating them before Sakura grabbed the collar of his shirt. She stuffed her napkin in his mouth to keep him from talking.

"_I want you as my girlfriend. I should have known from the beginning that things would have been better with you. And seeing the hurt look in your eyes at the park made me realize that instead of pretending with a child, I could be happy with a woman. What do you say, Tenten? Let's be official."_

Naruto felt a stabbing feeling at his heart as the girl squealed yes. _"Is this why Sasuke's not answering his door?"_

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Dear Journal:

I'm doing something today that I never expected to do. I'm sitting at a camp in the woods with Kakashi…and Itachi. Of all the things I've ever had to do in my life, this is the hardest. It's hard accepting that Itachi never meant to kill the clan. I watched him kill the clan with my own eyes. However, it was our great uncle, Madara, that was actually in control of Itachi's body. Madara's Sharingan copied a technique from Ino's clan used to alter minds. He then perfected it to his standards.

It hurts to know that the relationship I had with someone I once looked up to was torn apart. And the even confusing thing is trying to piece it back together. The village's new Hokage, Tsunade, and Kakashi think that writing this journal is a good way to vent. And as childish as this seems to me, I comply. It's much easier writing how I feel versus talking to someone for endless hours at a time. I'm tired of having this wall built up between me and the world. I want to experience something as close to normal as possible. I was tired of being on the run.

But what I've been tired of for my whole life is the feeling that I'm not good enough, the feeling that I'm not strong enough. And the main reason for me letting Naruto and the others drag me to the village and making me believe the _'truth'_ about Itachi is the fact that I was tired of myself. My quest for power led me to believe that I was never good/strong enough. I'm still puzzled as to how Naruto found out the truth before I did.

Every day is a struggle within me. I want to run away at times because it's weird getting used to village life all over again. Itachi tells me to just take it one day at a time. He seems to have adjusted to _'this'_ life all over again. He'd recently told me about his new girlfriend he wants me to meet. He ignores the looks of doubt from the villagers who still don't accept him into the village. No one from the village knows the story except Kakashi, Tsunade, Naruto, and Sakura. They managed to convince everyone else on my _'rescue_' team and a few villagers to believe another story about him working undercover for the village. Great cover up, I must admit. No one would like to know that a member of the great Uchiha clan was weak enough to let one take over their mind.

I'm trying to cope with acting my age. I even have a boyfriend. Everyone expected me to have a girlfriend. But what's the point? Why rebuild a clan that was destined to fail from its first member? Besides, I'm doing fine with Neji. He understands me because he is similar to me. He grew up in a clan trying his hardest to be seen because he wanted the attention that another received. He's actually the only villager to know I'm on this trip with Kakashi and Itachi besides the Hokage.

I want to tell Neji the truth about Itachi. He's my boyfriend and he deserves nothing but honesty. However, some things are better left in the dark. I'm about to help Itachi build a fire to fry the fish we caught earlier. It does seem better bonding with him outside the stares of the villagers. It doesn't feel like we're under a microscope. And guess what? For the Hokage, or whoever else wants to check this (Kakashi), I believe I wrote enough to make up for the last three weeks.

-_Sasuke_

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_**And now, a word from the author**_: So Chapter 2 is now posted. I decided against writing Sasuke's journal entry in all italics because I didn't want to irritate the eyes of some readers. I've read complaints on other stories about authors using italicized letters too much. Anyway, please read and review. Thanks for those who subscribed to my story and added this to their favorites list. If I have enough reviews, I may possibly update the story before the 4th of July so that you readers can have something to look at before you start your activities for the day.


	3. Request

_**This Thing Called Love**_

_**Request**_

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**Naruto**

Is faith toying with me? After the whole incident at Konoha Amore' it was four more days until we finally saw Sasuke again. Sakura and I took turns visiting his house day in and day out. I thought about just sneaking in through his window, but Sakura thought it was be intruding into his personal affairs. She felt we should let him have alone time for a while so that he could "find" himself. So every time I decided to peek my head in a window to let him know he wasn't alone, she would jump out of her hiding area and punch me in the back of the head.

It hurt. It really hurt to the point that I took an aspirin upon arriving home. But no aspirin could take away the pain that's swelling in my heart right now. That _bastard, _and for once I'm not referring to Sasuke, is standing there like nothing is wrong. He's standing there with his arm around Sasuke's waist standing outside of _Konoha Amore'_! I'm enraged! I'm going to pound his face in.

Once again it is Sakura who grabs me by the collar to keep me from rushing in head first. It is her who decides that we should follow the same routine we did the last time we were here. It is her who asks the waitress to fetch Mina who lies like we've had reservations that were already made but weren't on the _list._ Sakura pretends it wasn't her who dropped the money by Mina's feet pretending that the money dropped out of Mina's sleeve. It is Mina who takes us to the booth we had last time next to the one Neji had last time…and right now. So it is I that decides to sit quietly because Sakura went through a lot and Mina is risking a lot to get this plan to work. And it is also I who gets to nap for fifteen minutes before the two ice princes decide to have a conversation.

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_**Normal P.O.V. (Point of View)**_

"Sasuke?"

Said boy looked up from his finished bowl of tomato soup. He had taken to staring at the red stained porcelain bowl to hide his irritation. Over in the next booth were Naruto and Sakura. He could feel their chakras. He could feel their chakras even as he and his boyfriend stood outside of the restaurant. He tried to act oblivious to them just as his boyfriend did. He noticed the occasional looks that Neji threw them from the corner of his eye as they stood outside Konoha Amore'. He even watched Neji observe Naruto as he yelled to convince the waitress that he had indeed made reservations before Sakura hit him in the stomach and began to talk to the woman calmly. So the only thought on his mind was: what were those two up to?

"You do remember that my date of birth is July the third." It was a statement. Someone like Naruto would confuse it as a question, but Sasuke knew better.

"Yes, and my birthday is exactly twenty days later."

Neji smirked. Any other person would have been asking countless questions about what he wanted or what he planned to do. It took the Uchiha to act nonchalant as if he didn't care. He knew deep down the younger boy cared. He was able to read through Sasuke from their time spent together. "I found information on our zodiac sign one day while I was bored."

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow signaling for him to continue.

"We're both Cancers. I read that emotions run deep when two cancers get involved. We are supposed to have have quite similar temperaments and get very attached to each other."

Neji paused and looked at Sasuke. The raven haired teen wonder if the pause was due to what Naruto had attempted but failed to whisper in the next booth. _"These are the best lines he can come up with? Talking about the zodiac? I-OWW!" _Sasuke assumed Sakura had punched the dobe at this point. "Please continue."

"Well I concluded that this could evolve into a very intimate, steady, reliable, loving and protective relationship. And so far we've haven't fallen short from that, well except one. Things have been steady. We have both been reliable. Remember when I helped you prepare for your battle against Gai just so you could move up to Chuunin rank?"

Sasuke nodded. "And you 'protected' me and stood by my side ever since we've been together even though some villagers still don't trust me. I'm no idiot Neji. You're trying to get at how we don't really have an intimate relationship."

Pale lips formed into a grin. "I think that sometimes you look into things too much, Uchiha."

"I see you're back to referring to me as _'that'_." There was another awkward silence between them. His boyfriend was back to using _that _name. _That_ cursed name that brought him nothing but bad luck and pain. _That _name that was only used when people spoke of him as if he was the village's biggest mistake.

"You can't change the past, Uchiha." He felt the glare of said boy, but chose not to look into the hateful gaze. "You can't change the past and the same goes for me. I am a Hyuuga clan member. I can only hold my head as high I attempt to differentiate myself from the rest." A hand snaked its way around Sasuke's waist and pulled the boy closer. "I want to _'bake cake'_ for my birthday."

And to confirm suspicions from earlier, Naruto tried to _silently _laugh from behind the screen. Of course the sound of Sakura's fist cracking something followed. Sasuke's eye began to twitch from the annoyance.

"I want to attempt to bake a cake with _'cream filling'_."

To the average person, like Naruto, _"baking cake"_ would mean just as it sound. Sasuke knew better. He knew he was the _"cake"_ and Neji's semen would be the _"cream filling". _"Neji, I've never _'baked cake'_ before."

"_Could I tell him now, Sakura? I'm not trying to hear about cake. I-"_

The screen between the two booths was slid over by an annoyed looking Sasuke. A confused Neji was now holding the hem of his shirt. The village knew there was one person who could work the nerve's of a certain Uchiha. _Naruto._

"Dobe," Sasuke spat.

Naruto stood on the booth so that he and Sasuke were face to face. "Teme!"

"What do you think you are doing here? I knew before I even began to eat my meal that you were following me. What do you want?"

Sakura slid from her side of the booth and stood in the aisle. "Sasuke-kun…'

"Neji is cheating!" Naruto yelled pointing his index finger. "He's cheating with Ten-Ten! You know, the girl from his team…" His voice trailed off at brief look of shock on Sasuke's face. "I-I…Sasuke…I'm sorry. Sakura-chan and I followed Neji into here last week and we-"

"We weren't following!" Sakura cut in. She nervously ran her fingers through her hair. "I already had reservations."

Silence ensued as Sasuke turned to face Neji. The two exchanged a conversation through their eyes before Sasuke stepped out of the booth. Without a second thought, he grabbed Neji's arm and snatched the older boy up. The intense aura surrounding the corner radiated through each of the four bodies.

"You could even ask the restaurant hostess and our server," Naruto decided to continue in hopes of breaking the silence.

"I'm not asking anything!" Sasuke snapped. His glare was fixated on Naruto. "How dare you make false accusations about _'my'_ boyfriend. You begged, fought, and whined to bring me back to this _'Hell'_ and now that I'm trying to fit in to be _'normal'_, you're trying to make things hard for me."

"How can you-"

"Close it, Naruto. I'm leaving."

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The two sat on the swings of the play ground. Neither dared to speak after the incident at the restaurant. The night was just as hot as day. The light breeze that was felt from swinging was felt like a blast of heat in your face. But the two silently swung. They would often do this together.

It sometimes felt as the swing was a yo-yo. They were escaping their problems together as they swung forward, but we're being sucked in when they has to swing back. The shorter of the two jumped off the swing and landed in the cold pebbles surrounding the swings. "We should discuss and try to gain an understanding of what happened earlier."

The taller teen continued to swing for another minute before jumping into the pebbles as well.

"I know Naruto and Sakura may have jumped to conclusions, but I know that you had to be with Ten-Ten in order for them to say that. You never told me of having plans with her."

Neji sighed. He knew things would come to this. "Months ago you were considered a missing-nin."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"My clan looks down on you."

Sasuke's body tensed as the next line was spoken.

"My uncle, who is the head of the clan and my guardian, ordered that I cease a relationship that should have never formed." A pale hand grabbed onto another. "But Ten-Ten agreed to be my girlfriend as a cover up so that you and I could stay together." The two boys moved closer to one another.

Times like this were when both boys would let their guard down. Times where you could feel love flowing through their chakras. Times where Sasuke would feel as if Neji was too good to be true and he wasn't worthy of him. "Neji?"

The chocolate haired teen wrapped his arms around the smaller boy.

"I can't wait to be filled with your _'cream filling'_."

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_**And now, a word from the author**_: There will be Sasuke and Naruto eventually. I just had to open the story with the basis for the plot. Sasuke's with someone who is cheating. Naruto wants Sasuke to be happy, but he doesn't want him to get hurt. But everything, or everyone, are not as they seem. It's called a plot twist. And I promise you things are sure to get crazy.

It was hard writing this chapter. I had an idea in my head of how I wanted this story to flow. However, I'm not getting any feedback. I took to asking various authors, whom have written brilliant stories might I add, to read mine and give me their critique. As an author, I have the rights to view how many readers actually take time to look over this. It's a shame that I have a lot of viewers, but few comments. So this is how it's going to be: I'm not adding any more chapters until I get reviews. This is like a job. Your reviews are my pay. So see you soon, or not.


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